Golan to 'remain part of' Israel in any Syria peace deal: Israeli FM

JERUSALEM

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on June 30 that the occupied Golan Heights "will remain part of" Israel under any potential peace agreement with Syria.

Speaking a new conference in Jerusalem alongside his Austrian counterpart Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the Israeli top diplomat said that his country is "interested" in striking peace agreements with neighboring Lebanon and Syria, a potentially historic shift in the region after decades of war and animosity.

"Israel is interested in expanding the Abraham Accords circle of peace and normalization," Saar said of the U.S.-brokered deals that Israel signed in 2020 with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.

"We have an interest in adding countries, Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization while safeguarding Israel's essential and security interests," Saar said.

However, he insisted that the Golan Heights, which Israel seized in 1967 and later annexed in a move not recognized by the United Nations, "will remain part of the State of Israel" under any future peace agreement.

After Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December 2024, Israel moved forces into the U.N.-patrolled demilitarized zone in the Golan and has carried out hundreds of strikes against military targets in Syria.

Numerous reports in the Israeli media last week indicated that talks between Syria and Israel are ongoing in this context, with suggestions that diplomatic relations between the two countries could be established by the end of 2025.

However, one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations between Damascus and Tel Aviv remains the Golan Heights. Israeli and Lebanese media have reported conflicting accounts — based on sources —regarding Syria’s stance on the territory.

According to the Lebanese news channel LBCI, Syria is not currently demanding that Israel return parts of the Golan Heights it captured in 1967 as part of the ongoing peace talks.

Instead, Syria is requesting Israel’s recognition of the new regime led by Ahmad al-Sharaa and a withdrawal from areas in southern Syria seized by Israeli forces since January, sources said.

However, another report released the same day contradicted this, claiming that Syria would insist on an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights as a condition for any future peace agreement.